After more than a century, Lebanon Valley News Co. to close

Lebanon Valley News Co., which distributes magazines and newspapers, will end its run in June

The Lebanon Valley News Co. stands at 37 S. Eighth St. in Lebanon. The business, which has had roots in Lebanon County for more than 100 years, is closing in June. (Earl Brightbill — Lebanon Daily News)

A downtown Lebanon business that has had roots in Lebanon County for more than 100 years is closing.

Lebanon Valley News Co., located at the rear of 37 S. Eighth St., will close on or shortly after June 1, said Steven Etter, president and CEO of the Harrisburg News Co., Lebanon Valley News' parent company.

The business, which distributes magazines and newspapers, will consolidate operations with the Harrisburg News Co., Etter said.

"It makes more sense to run some of these routes out of Harrisburg rather than Lebanon," he said.

The Lebanon office has three full-time employees and several part-time employees. Etter was not sure if the consolidation would result in any job losses.

"We're going to realign some stuff, and there could be some job losses," he said. "We haven't worked everything out yet."

The people who have been making deliveries in Lebanon have been going to Harrisburg to get their papers for several years, so it makes little sense economically to keep both locations open, Etter said.

The Etter family has been in the business of distributing printed material since 1913, when Samuel Etter opened his first newspaper stand in Palmyra, according to the Harrisburg New Company's website, harrisburgnewsco.com.

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Initially, Samuel Etter sold newspapers, candy and tobacco. In 1931, he became a wholesaler for out-of-town newspapers by purchasing several trucks and a distribution warehouse that doubled as a retail store.

Around 1940, the Etters branched into the magazine distribution business, and in 1975 the family acquired the larger Harrisburg News Agency. The two organizations were later merged.

The Etter family — Steven's parents, David and Isabel Etter — also ran the Cedar Book and Card Shop in the front of 37 S. Eighth St. for 43 years before closing in 2007.

Today, Harrisburg News Co. distributes magazines, books and newspapers throughout central Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, according to its website.

"We've been very fortunate, and we've been blessed to have a business that has lasted three or four generations," Steven Etter said. "It's just like any other industry: people are getting used to consolidation, and we're no different. Clearly the electronic media has expedited the situation in our industry."